Creately vs. SmartDraw

Creately is a commonly used tool to create infographic elements for your workflows. It is effortless to use and has excellent and underrated features such as rules & database creation. While using Creately, one can not create hierarchical structures such as folders inside folders and so on for organizing diagrams.

Incentivized

As a developer i use it extensively for sharing ideas specially related for system design and application flows. Entire team finds it comfortable to use it, understand it and make changes swiftly. We use it for High Level System design. While discussing the only missing thing we find about it is the integration of an ide for Low Level Design but in my opinion this tool isn't made for that purpose.

Incentivized

• I like that it supports remote work and that it makes real-time collaboration easy.
• AI-powered diagramming works well and has been very helpful in explaining complex ideas.
• It supports data driven workflows.
• It makes project management easy.
• It effortlessly boosts team productivity thanks to easy alignment with strategies.

Incentivized

• Provides examples to work off of--these are helpful when you don't know exactly where to start.
• Provides a number of stylistic options without making things too complex, so you can be creative without getting overwhelmed.
• Provides a wide variety of templates, meets a wide variety of needs.

Incentivized

• The transition Creately made this year to their new non-Flash platform seems to almost function like a beta release in some instances.
• Customer support sometimes takes a while to return and the responses are not always the best or most helpful. Follow up isn't great, either.

Incentivized

• A month-to-month plan would be ideal for users that don't have a need to create many projects
• The sidebar navigation can be a little confusing with all of the tools listed.
• Offering customizable plans with only the feature you need would simplify navigation

Incentivized

Creately is one of its Kind. The software has a straightforward interface and very supportive customer services providers. It is very well suited in diagramming and collaboration.

I rated 8 because its simple to use and easy to create network topologies quickly. I liked the drag and drop option which makes designing the network topology and flow chart easier. In general its does what it needs to.

Incentivized

It definitely could be better, but it may also depend on the type of license you are subscribing to.

Incentivized

They are always very helpful, we get computers every two years and I have to call them to move the license from one computer to another and they do it with a smile in their voice!

Incentivized

Creately's folder system is a novel feature that beats its competitors. It helps keep everything organized. In addition, there are many more customization possibilities, especially in the shapes and in the library of templates and drawings. It has an intelligent drawing capability superior to all the competition, allowing more customization and detail.

Incentivized

As noted in first question, SmartDraw has them beat in every category I can think of (except for price; but need to keep in mind the old adage "you get what you pay for"!). This product allows for VASTLY-improved uploading of data than the Lucidchart product, and customer service is real, tangible service... they understand that when you have a question and need an answer, waiting 2 or 3 days for an email response is not acceptable.

Incentivized

• It supports real-time collaboration, and our remote/hybrid teams can effectively participate.
• Diagramming makes it easy to understand complex strategies.
• With the tool in place, we have effectively boosted team productivity.

Incentivized

• SmartDraw has provided good return for our internal purposes. Using it to understand an organization's structure and inner workings has been valuable. On the client side, creating steps and businesses processes has also been a big plus. It has helped decrease confusing reporting structures and has provided a detailed map for individuals to understand where they fit within their organization.
• Unfortunately, SmartDraw has been somewhat inefficient with some of the more complex projects on our plate and has really deterred certain employees from even wanting to use it.

Incentivized